Peterman Philosophy

Recently, I ran across the book “Seinfeld and Philosophy” by William Irwin and being such a huge Seinfeld fan, I happily placed the book on the store counter and forked over $20 so I could enlighten myself. The book contains 14 essays written by several professional philosophers about different subjects throughout the 9 year television run of Seinfeld. I’m not a philosophical whiz by any means but I did manage to earn an A in my one college experiment with philosophy. We all know about the likes of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle as being some of the greatest thinkers of our past human history. But, most of us haven’t spent countless hours contemplating our philosophical functions in life or reading the material of these great scholars. However, while reading this book, I felt as if I were back in school, sitting in my uncomfortable chair, listening to a professor expound upon the teachings of these great introspective teachers.

Not to demean professors of philosophy, but generally speaking, the subject matter lacks a sense of excitement. Yes, I mean it’s boring. I instituted a personal goal requiring that I finish this book. I started it and that means I have to finish it, at all costs. So, I weathered the droopy eyelids, the constant mind wanderings to what else I could be doing with my time, and the endless looks forward to see how many pages until the chapter end. I finished the book. Yes, I became enlightened as I had imagined I would when I procured this book from the bookstore. However, it was an enlightenment I did not expect. Given that Seinfeld was a comedic sitcom known for their outrageous takes on daily life, I was expecting a light hearted, funny look at life, while applying some philosophical theories. Well, I did get that… minus the funny.

I’ve never been one to read a chapter or two at the bookstore to determine if I should purchase the book or try and “rent” it from the library, but this book has opened that realm of possibility for me. The book wasn’t “all” bad (boring). Of the 14 chapters, three or four were in the range from entertaining to even bearable, the other 10, not so much so. While it’s always a fun lesson to apply scholarly teachings to subjects we enjoy, sometimes it just doesn’t work too well. Comparing Jerry Seinfeld, the character, to Socrates? Wondering what Aristotle would have thought about George? Determining if Elaine exhibited the philosophical traits of feminism? You get the idea. Not funny. Yes, it could have been, even with the above questions, but the “professional” philosophers were actually analyzing Seinfeld in a philosophical distillation of actions and thought.

Enough with the “book review,” what does Peterman have to do with any of this? J. Peterman, an interesting character from Seinfeld, is a focal point of one of the more interesting essays in the book. Pulling a quote from Seinfeld, Peterman states “Clearly, people want things that make their lives the way they wish they were.” While Peterman the character, truly believes this to be true, is it true in our lives on this side of the television screen? His statement is a great philosophical statement because it offers a point of view into our own actions and thoughts. Are we trying to live a life we wish we were or are we satisfied with the life we have?

America has long been at odds with satisfaction. Are we ever satisfied? If we were satisfied, would we be wishing for a better life? Do you know anyone who is satisfied with their station in life or is everyone always focused on the next step to supposed happiness? Satisfaction in our country has been placed on equal footing as surrender, settling, or giving up. Why should we want to stay the same if there is always something more out there? That something more could make us even MORE happy right? So, as millions of us trudge along in pursuit of the life we wish we were living, satisfaction will ultimately elude us. More often than not, our lives equate any amount of satisfaction to immediate gratification. It has no lasting impact on our lives.

I admit that I look towards the future in search of the next hurdle to surpass on my way to “satisfaction.” While focusing on this next hurdle, how are you applying yourself in your current day to day life? Are you 100% living each day or are you living for tomorrow? Are you wishing your time and life away for a sense of who you wish to be in the future? When and if that time comes, can you truly admit to yourself that you will become instantly satiated and your life you have wished for will become your “real” life? More than likely you cannot. We are trained to want more, be more successful, gain more power, accrue more wealth, etc.

Peterman’s simple statement is a magnifying glass we can utilize to analyze our own lives. We are constantly wanting (or some may say needing) things in our lives to make our lives the way we wish they were. The American environment has destroyed the ideology of contentment. Satisfaction can almost never be truly achieved. We are constantly struggling in our pursuits to acquire “things” that will theoretically make our lives better. In reality, we are all searching for our own fairy tale. The truth that the fairy tale is impossible to grasp escapes us.

I believe we can be truly satisfied. There are those among us who live a life of contentment. They are the true torch bearers of happiness. They no longer want things to make their lives the way they wish they were. Their lives are exactly how they WANT them to be. Satisfaction is a true philosophical state many of us can never achieve because we cannot let go of wishing for something we are not. I still find myself wishing but more and more, as the years pass through the hourglass, I am finding that contentment and satisfaction are what I am “wishing” for. No longer are the things I find myself wishing for, tangible objects to satisfy my fairy tale of life. I wish for a state of true satisfaction and contentment. Will you join me or will you still be wishing as the twilight enters your life?